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4/8/2018, From the management: We have moved the Bullpen over to a new temporary server and a new permanent type of setup. It's a bit much to explain here, but I think it's working. Please let me know on User_talk:Admin if you see any issues. Thank you as always for your support.

Senior Professional Baseball Association

From BR Bullpen

The Senior Professional Baseball Association was a winter baseball league based in Florida for players age 35 and over (with a minimum age of 32 for catchers). SPBA was the idea of Colorado real estate wheeler-dealer (and former minor leaguer) Jim Morley. Morley saw how the Senior Golf Tour worked and thought "Why not a Senior League for Baseball?" The league began play in 1989 and had eight teams in two divisions and a 72 game schedule. Pitchers Rollie Fingers, Fergie Jenkins (both future Hall of Famers), and Vida Blue, outfielder Dave Kingman, and manager Earl Weaver were the league's marquee names, and former big league outfielder Curt Flood was the circuit's first Commissioner. At age 54, Ed Rakow was the league's oldest player. Former strikeout king J.R. Richard was drafted by the league but cut in preseason.

In the first weekend of February 1990, the league's top four teams participated in a three game, single elimination tournament with a rather unusual format. On February 2nd, the league's second place clubs faced off. The Explorers defeated the Sun Sox for a chance to face the St. Petersburg Pelicans. The next day, the Pelicans beat the Explorers 9-2 to advance to the league championship game against the West Palm Beach Tropics. On February 4th, 1990, the Pelicans, powered by Lamar Johnson's home run and 3 RBIs, beat the Tropics 12-4 for the league's first championship. Johnson was named Star of Stars, the name of the MVP award in the championship game. All of the league's playoff games were held at the Fort Myers Sun Sox home field of Terry Park. The three playoff games' attendance was 8,571 for an average of 2,857 fans per game. The reason all playoff games were played in Terry Park was that Major League Spring Training was starting and Terry Park was the only field available.